RECIPES FOLLOW FOR:
HOMESTYLE HOT TAMALES
SALSA VERDE
ADRIANNA'S CAPRIOTADA
'
"A couple of years ago, I clipped a recipe for tamales with green salsa from The Times-Picayune. My whole family and friends enjoyed them very much. I would love to be able to replace that recipe.

"I left it on the kitchen counter when we did the Katrina road trip. I was planning to mix up a batch that weekend. My Chalmette home was destroyed that Monday/Tuesday," writes J.C., now living in Thibodaux. "Please keep those recipes coming. It's my comfort connection to our old life."

Friday is Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican holiday, so this is a good time to respond to J.C.'s request.

If you don't have time to make the whole batch of tamales, you might want to try at least the salsa verde, or green salsa.

Tomatillos may be unfamiliar to some local cooks, but I see them often in supermarkets here. They look like small waxy green tomatoes covered with a papery husk, and they are very easy to use.

The recipe originally came from B.D.B. of Harvey.

Homestyle hot tamales

Makes 150 to 180 tamales

MEAT MIXTURE,

3 ｽ to 4 pounds ground beef

2 large onions, pureed

1 (3-ounce) jar or can of chili powder

ｽ teaspoon cumin

4 teaspoons salt

2 (8-ounce) cans Hunt's tomato sauce

1 (8-ounce) can water

2/3 cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Cayenne pepper to taste, optional

Soak 150 to 180 tamale papers in water. Put in one at a time, sink it and add another until all are submerged. Set aside.

Combine cornmeal and salt with shortening, blending well with your hands. (The dough should be dark yellow and adhere easily to the outside of a meat log; if not, add more shortening.) Enclose each meat log in the cornmeal dough; place on a paper and roll halfway up; then tuck in one side of the paper and finish rolling.

SAUCE

Chili powder

2 (8-ounce) cans Hunt's tomato sauce

Water to cover

Cover the bottom of a large pot with chili powder. Add a row of tamales and sprinkle top with chili powder; then add another row, facing in the opposite direction, and sprinkle top with chili powder. Continue in this fashion until all of the tamales are layered in the pot. Pour cans of tomato sauce on top; then add water until all tamales are covered. Wait a few minutes (because water will soak into the layers) and pour in additional water until tamales are covered again. Bring to a boil and cook on high for five minutes; then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Salsa verde (green salsa)

Makes about 2 cups

1 quart water

12 tomatillos, husked

7 medium garlic cloves, divided

4 to 8 serrano chilies

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped white onion

Salt to taste

ｾ cup cilantro leaves, with a bit of stem

Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Add tomatillos, four of the garlic cloves, chiles and onion. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Cool.

Meanwhile, puree the remaining three garlic cloves with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor, adding salt to taste. Add cilantro and blend. Add tomatillo mixture, with a little cooking water, and blend. (The sauce should have a slightly thick consistency.)

GARNISH

ｼ cup chopped white onion

ｼ cup chopped cilantro

Pour the green sauce into a serving bowl. Garnish with the onion and cilantro. From "The Best of Quintana" by Patricia Quintana (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1995)

. . . . . . .

A REALLY DIFFERENT BREAD PUDDING: This is an authentic dessert to make for Cinco de Mayo feasts. I was privileged to help one of my colleagues make this in Baton Rouge. Adrianna Garcia grew up in Douglas, Ariz., and this is her grandmother's recipe for a traditional Mexican bread pudding, capirotada. Adrianna uses French bread instead of the traditional pan birote, and dark brown sugar instead of the cones of piloncio, both of which are hard to find here.

With the peanuts, mild cheese and fruit, it is as delicious as it is different from New Orleans bread puddings.

Adrianna's capirotada

Makes 10 to 12 servings

FOR THE SYRUP

ｽ pound dark brown sugar

2 slices white onion

2 sprigs cilantro

Rind of ｼ orange

3 cups water

Combine all in a saucepan. Stir continuously and bring to a boil. Stir until syrup thickens to the consistency of maple syrup. Turn off heat and set aside.

Butter slices of French bread and toast them on sheet pans in the oven. In a large ungreased casserole dish, make layers in this order: toasted bread, cheese, peanuts, apples, bananas, cranberries. End with cheese on top. (Note: You may have some leftover toast.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour syrup through a sieve over the dish until the bread is soaked. Bake until the cheese on top is lightly browned. Cover the casserole with foil after the top layer of cheese melts, and continue to cook for half an hour, until pudding is bubbling. Serve immediately